A FORMER Ayrshire MP is to talk at a public meeting in Ayr next week on 'The Socialist Case for Independence.' Jim Sillars will be among the speakers at the meeting in Ayr Town Hall in Newbridge Street, organised by the Scottish Socialist Party. The Scottish Socialist Party on Monday 3rd March at 7.30pm.

Jim Sillars was the Labour MP for South Ayrshire in the 1970s, and later the SNP MP for Glasgow Govan and deputy leader of the SNP. He has been described as a vateran pro-independence socialist.

He has just published a new book entitled "In Place of Fear 2: the socialist case for independence".

also on the platofmr will be SSP's national spokesperson and Yes Scotland Advisory Board member Colin Fox.

SSP west of Scotland regional organiser Richie Venton said: "We are immensely proud to have Jim Sillars and Colin Fox speaking. Instead of the fear-mongering and obscure point-scoring that the Referendum debate too often consists of in the media, this meeting will have hard-hitting, straight-talking socialists explaining why millions of Scottish people would be radically better off after independence. It's a must-attend public meeting for local people.

"Thousands of people throughout Ayrshire are mulling over the choices we face in September, wondering whether independence will make any difference to our daily lives and livelihoods.

"The Scottish Socialist Party has never called for independence just so we can change flags and emblems. We want to change the system.

"We want to banish poverty pay, pitiful pensions, rock-bottom benefits and rampant job insecurity.

"We want the fabulous natural, industrial, financial and above all human wealth of Scotland to be used for the benefit of the millions, not the millionaires and bankers.

"Since we were founded 15 years ago the SSP has fought for an independent socialist Scotland, free of nuclear weapons of mass destruction, free of obscene inequality, free of fuel poverty whilst the cartel of six big energy companies hike prices and make £8billion profits.

"We see a Yes vote in September as the quickest way to kick open the door to that future, where the working class majority population would be far better off.

"Voting Yes does not make you a nationalist. It does not mean you are voting for Alex Salmond or for permanent SNP governments. It makes you a democrat. It means the people of Scotland can then elect whatever governments and parties they actually choose from 2016 onwards, instead of having Tory governments that we never elected imposed on Scotland.

"In fact independence is the opportunity to evict the Tories, to end their dictatorship over Scotland - permanently!

"The fact our two main guest speakers, JIm Sillars and Colin Fox, are arguing the socialist case for independence makes this a meeting all local people should attend. Regardless of whether they are Yes, No or undecided right now, they should hear the hard facts and inspiring vision of a radically different future for Scotland - one that is rarely or never heard in the media." Mr Sillars may also be appearing in Cumnock and Doon Valley during March.